I am in searxch for a new commuter light. It needs to pack enough punch for me to see very dark country lanes including all the pot holes and debris that is currently awash with our roads.

I have a exposure joystick at present which is really good however over the years it holds less and less charge typically failing on the lowest beam setting 5 – 10mins short of my 15 mile home commute!

I was o na ride recently with a friend who had a knog blinder, road 2 I think which looks really good.

Searching on the web there seems to be mark 6, 7, 8 and 9 joysticks on sale! Not sure which to buy? Any ideas?

Blinders are only to be seen.

Sorry ignore that, I thought you meant the standard Blinder. I’d go for another joystick if I was you. much better construction than the knog or most other brands of light.

Something like this on low will be plenty to see by and mine last 4 or 5 hours.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/KK-LIGHT-KKgud-Lumens-Outdoor-Bicycle/dp/B00FXLDEAO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416315645&sr=8-1&keywords=xml+bike+light

What about getting a new battery put in the Joystick?
I think exposure will do it or somewhere like MTB Batteries.

Or alternatively do it yourself.
http://jameshilling.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/exposure-joystick-battery-replacement.html

You may be able to put a bigger capacity battery in and further increase the run time.

Thanks rich,

I was trying to aviod separate battery packs and leads however impressed by the low price! might be worth ap unt at that price 🙂

I cant justify ~£60 for a road bike light so just stick with them they tend to last 6 months or so.
My battery is velcro’d under the stem so no messy leads really.

Thanks andy,

didnt realise you could change the battery! might be worth MTB doing it for £18

The Mk9 Joystick is just a step up and can be found for a reasonable price, esp considering how much older version still sell for in ‘sales’ or how much old joystick go for on ebay. Having said that, ive got a sirus Mk2 (360L) and its miles better than the Maxx2 (2nd Gen?) Joystick ive had for years (240L). Really rate this years exposure stuff, seems to have jumped a huge amount compared to previous incremental increases.

Thanks STato…and christmas is coming up too!

Go for a mk2 Exposure Strada. 400 lumens, good spread and £75 from their outlet store. Then use the Joystick for pothole spotting, angled down on the bars.

That’s my set up and it works really well on dark lanes.

Thanks Tired,

I will look up the mk2 strada

Cateye volt? Either 700 or 1200? I would have thought both would be a lot brighter than the joystick for similar prices. Anything lezyne, Niterider Lumina range. Surely the Joystick is the worst value light of its out put? Bearin mind all options above are good quality and reliable.

I’m going to get a dynamo setup for my commuter, cheap Shimano hub ~£50 and one of the £50ish B & M lights from bike-discount.de, they’ll run a rear light and beam patterns look perfect for road riding, no more faffing with batteries/USB chargers at work.

I have both for my commute. The knog is not powerful by itself for unlit roads and needs constant recharging, the strap is also rubbish, but they do have a really good 2 year warranty. The joystick is brilliant.

johnnyboy666
Surely the Joystick is the worst value light of its out put? Bearin mind all options above are good quality and reliable.

Only if you value the quoted lumen output above all other factors, like build quality, reliability, versatility, optics, weight etc.

I can tell you I personally warrantied about fifty Lezyne lights and I know they had batches in the thousands that were faulty. They are absolute tat. Niterider have had their issues too. That’s not to say Exposure are flawless, but compared to most other brands of light they are much better built.

I’m going to get a dynamo setup for my commuter, cheap Shimano hub ~£50 and one of the £50ish B & M lights from bike-discount.de

This is the best commuting set-up, tons of light, always available. Make sure you pay the extra for the new versions of the lights tho (labelled as premium), the standard ones are good, the premium are amazing!

current Joystick (Mk 9) is much more floody than Mk 7 and 8, so would be good on its own commuting. I recently got one oto replace a Mk 7. I use the Joystick on lid and a Maxx D on the bars for offroad stuff and have loada light 🙂

Contact exposure (USE) and they should be able to sort it out for you.

I have seen absolutely loads of reports of Exposure lights failing. I think truth be told most brands reliability figures will be very similar. Surely things like how bright a light is is pretty important when buying a light, pretty much the whole point of a light is to produce light. In every quantifiable measure the joystick appears very over priced. I just picked up a Cateye volt 1200. Perhaps a tenner more but surely a vastly superior light on every single way?

Killed 6 lights in 2 years, joystick still standing. It is much better put together then everything I have tried.

johnnyboy666

I have seen absolutely loads of reports of Exposure lights failing. I think truth be told most brands reliability figures will be very similar.

I sold them for five years and saw very few with my own eyes. About five in total.

Surely things like how bright a light is is pretty important when buying a light, pretty much the whole point of a light is to produce light.

Yes but stated lumen output is only part of the picture, assuming it’s even accurate (which it’s not with anything chinese). It doesn’t take beam pattern into consideration.

In every quantifiable measure the joystick appears very over priced. I just picked up a Cateye volt 1200. Perhaps a tenner more but surely a vastly superior light on every single way?

Is the cateye made from machined aluminum? is it lighter? can you mount it on your helmet? is it stronger? is the mount interchangeable with other cat eye lights? can you run other lights off it like the red eye, white eye etc? can you use it as a head torch or a lantern? did buying the cateye help to keep manufacturing jobs in the uk?

I could say the Cateye is inferior in every way apart from having a slightly higher quoted lumen rating, which may be negligible in real world conditions.

Thanks g5604 for the direct comparison with Knog binders and joystick. I love my existign joystick and only have to change due to failing battery life, which to be fair is after over six years near constant use and re-charge (commute on average 4 times a week 15 miles each way).

I agree iwth comments regarding functionality and able to swap mounts etc. for the joystick.

I think I will expoler the repalcment battery option but also probably buy a new joystick. i might go for an earlier model ether mk7 or mk8 to save a few pounds.

Just got a Exposure Diablo from Evans for £80 as they price matched Winstanley and also used Tesco club card points that get doubled. Happy boy here as I also saved £40 off a Rapha Rain Jacket yesterday!! Commuting kit now all sorted. Sorry to be smug

I commute with an oldish Race MaxX 2, 480L (pre-cursor to the Strada), and it’s brilliant on the dark country lanes (24.5 km at ave 26Kph) which are falling apart and pitch black. Think the strada as a dipped headlights thing too?

I have a red eye? rear light short cable attachment thing running off it and it’s a brill bit of kit.

I’d be ripping anyones hand off for a £75 strada. Think the strada has a dipped headlights thing too?

There is Race on there for £100, well worth it.

OP If you are happy with you current light just go for a replacement battery either DIY job or ask Exposure, what ever you are comfortable with.

If you want a little bit more light have a look on Rutland Cycling’s webpage. They were selling older MK7/8 Joysticks at a pretty good discount not sure if they still have them in stock.

Otherwise the newest Joystick Mk9 is a lot brighter but I think they have changed the beam to be a bit wider but with the extra lumen it probably has the same reach as the older ones.

Surely things like how bright a light is is pretty important when buying a light, pretty much the whole point of a light is to produce light.

The beam pattern is very important too as is accurate lumen figures. A lot of the cheap Chinese lights use false figures and have a very bright and small spot and a wide and dim spill around it. The joystick on the other hand has a wider but still spot beam which is very even through out the spot and has a sharp cut off. I was very impressed at what my only 400 lumen output Joystick could do. I still think Exposures are expensive but they are good lights.

I just got an old reduced Diablo for commuting duties. Replaced my old magicshine 808 jobber because the separate battery pack was doing my head in. Ace.

Agree with those who say just get a replacement battery. USE/Exposure customer service is great – used them 3 times so far, for different reasons, and they’ve always been very helpful and efficient.

(Had a joystick that let in water; knocked the head loose on my Sumo Ti post after slipping a pedal landing a jump; after 4 or 5 years daily comuting use the plastic lens holders on my Flash & Flare started to break up. All sorted FoC)

Clearly jimjam made up his mind on this one and good for you.If you want to buy an exposure and keep the British end up then good for you, I just hope you also ride an Orange kitted out with all Hope parts to support the British workers (if you do then fairplay, but most likely not). I don’t work for cateye here but you obviously haven’t really thought about most of what you have written there. It has a great pattern for road and off road producing a squarish beam that works really well, I use it on my helmet without issues. If you find it to heavy then that is a personal preference. All the front is metal and the rear battery part is plastic (it’s also user replaceable) the mounts are universal amongst other cateye lights if that really means anything. More importantly they are toolless about 6 quid easy and nice and sturdy despite only being made of plastic. If you look at the the MTBR light shoot our they actually measure outputs an the cateye light produces slightly more than claimed where as all the exposure lights seem to be a little down on what they say. It’s a bike light, if it can be used as a head torch for camping then bonus but I can’t see it being a deal breaker for most. The key exposure difference is subjective quality feel in the hand. Who doesn’t like machined metal? Also worth mentioning the volt does 1200 lumens for 2 hours, 600ish for 5 and then 200 ish. for 17.5. That makes it pretty useful on the old commutes.

With all due respect many people have worked in bikeshops and have many anecdotal evidence on stuff. Until you have some sort of actual returns figures from the manufacturer then it’s nothing more than anecdotal. I’m sure you appreciate this.

Buy another battery, or another joystick but why not pop down to the local shop and check out some other options first. A lot of good and arguably better options out there and you won’t lose anything by looking.

I’ve just replaced the battery in my joystick (about 6 years old), after much consideration of alternative lights. At the end of the day, it always came back to cable free, well built and easy to mount/detach.
It cost £23 and about an hour to strip/remove/replace/solder.
Mark at MTB batteries will fit it for a small fee, if you’re not confident enough to do it yourself.

Johnnyboy, by now you’ll see from the other replies why exposure have a reputation for reliability. My own lights have seen nearly six years of continuous abuse.

With all due respect many people have worked in bikeshops and have many anecdotal evidence on stuff. Until you have some sort of actual returns figures from the manufacturer then it’s nothing more than anecdotal.

First hand experience is not anecdotal. It often comes with context and information that people choose to leave out of their angry forum posts or that journalists neglect to mention in magazine reviews.

When you work for a company like crc you are dealing with thousands, even tens of thousands of units, so again, not anecdotal. Nor was my experience at a previous employer who serviced the bikes for the psni bike unit, all of which were kitted out with exposure lights.
Since you commented Lezyne lights were reliable, you really don’t have a leg to stand on here, in terms of knowing what you’re talking about, and in terms of criticizing people for giving anecdotal evidence, which is what you’ve done. Come back to me in 6 years and we’ll see how your cateye is doing.

Apologies, I bow to your awesomeness and total knowledge of all. I shall be certain to seek your ultimate knowledge next time I need to purchase anything at all bike related.

every year i bought/tried new lights…ive had all types.
finally settled on exposure and now run strada and a joystick (flash/flare as backups) and never looked back.

this is the 2md year in a row I’ve not even considered buying something else. they are ace!